Powered ride-on vehicles for children typically use a rechargeable six- or twelve-volt battery to supply power to at least one electric motor that drives one or more wheels on the vehicle. A child rider can control movement of the vehicle by stepping on or releasing a foot-pedal switch interposed between the battery and the motor. Many such vehicles also include a reversing switch to allow the vehicle to be driven in both directions.
Ride-on vehicles are subject to being driven on a variety of surfaces, including concrete, dirt and grass, as well as up and down hills. As a result, the power requirements for ride-on vehicles vary dramatically during operation. In particular, when driving level or downhill on hard surfaces, the motor draws relatively little current--2-5 amps. However, when traveling uphill or over rough surfaces like grass and dirt, substantially more current is required. Thus, the motor, switches, battery and wiring must be capable of handling very high currents.
Although a high-current battery is necessary for adequate vehicle performance, care must be taken when using such a battery to avoid short circuits or other malfunctions that would create current overloads. In particular, unless the battery is properly protected against short circuits, it is possible that a short in the vehicle wiring or motor could damage the vehicle. Accordingly, it is important that the battery and vehicle wiring be protected against short circuits.
In the past, the most common system for protecting against short circuits has been installation of a fuse in the battery or in the wires extending from the battery. The fuse is normally placed in or close to the battery to insure that an unprotected short does not occur in the wiring prior to the fuse. Any sustained current overload is interrupted by the operation of the fuse. However, if a user replaces a blown fuse by inserting aluminum foil, paper clips, or some other conductor into the fuse carrier rather than by obtaining and installing the correct fuse, the vehicle may become unprotected against shorts or overloads.
In order to prevent the user from bypassing the fuse, it is possible to substitute a circuit breaker for the fuse. A circuit breaker is a device that interrupts the flow of current in the event of an overload. In contrast to a fuse, which must be replaced after overload, a circuit breaker may be reset manually or, in some cases, resets automatically after cooling. In either case, the circuit breaker can be installed in the battery or in the wires leading from the battery. This eliminates the opportunity for the user to bypass the overload protection and thereby increases the safety of the vehicle.
Although using a circuit breaker instead of a fuse in the battery provided with the vehicle reduces the risk of damage from current overloads, user tampering still remains a problem. In addition, it is still possible that a user may purchase a replacement or extra battery for the vehicle which is not properly equipped with a circuit breaker. In particular, the sealed, lead-acid batteries that are normally used in ride-on vehicles come in various sizes and voltages. These batteries are also utilized in numerous other applications and are not always equipped with fuses or circuit breakers. If a user installs a battery that is not equipped with a fuse or circuit breaker, the vehicle may be left with no protection whatsoever against overload or short circuit. Moreover, even if the replacement battery is equipped with some type of overload protection, that protection may not be properly sized for the particular vehicle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a child's ride-on vehicle which offers improved resistance to damage due to current overloads as a result of improper part replacement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly for a ride-on vehicle that prevents a user from installing a battery other than one specifically designed for the vehicle.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly for a ride-on vehicle in which at least one contact on a vehicle side of the connector assembly is not electrically connected to the vehicle wiring system until mating with a corresponding portion of the connector assembly on a battery side.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a battery with a socket designed to cooperatively actuate a vehicle-mounted plug, whereby only a battery specifically designed for the vehicle may be used therein.